Multiple purpose furniture



April 5, 1960 G. B. RASCO HAL 2,931,425

MULTIPLE PURPOSE FURNITURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16. 1958 IN VENT0R5. Grady B. R0660 BY John R. Toy/or; Jr:

P lih April 1960 G. B. RASCO ETAL 2,931,425

MULTIPLE PURPOSE FURNITURE Filed May 16, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS. Grady 6, Rosco BY John R Tag/or; Jr?

AGENT MULTIPLE PURPOSE FURNITURE Grady B. Rasco, Lake Jackson, and JohnR. Taylor, In, Freeport, Tex.

Application May 16, 1958, Serial No. 735,871

8 Claims. (Cl. 155-43) This invention relates to furniture andparticularly to multi-purpose furniture which is adapted forinstitutional usage.

In an elfort to reduce institutional costs many schools, churches, etc.now use a single room or area for more than one functional purpose. Forexample, many schools have multi-purpose rooms which are commonly calledcafeteria and are combination cafeteria eating areas the assembly halls.Another example of such multiple purpose rooms occurs in churches wherea single room may serve as a meeting or eating area (church suppers,etc.) and as an overflow seating area used during church services.

, While the concept of using such multi-purpose rooms to reduce capitalcosts is excellent, the progress in development of economical,fool-proof multi-purpose furniture has apparently lagged behind the needfor such furniture and consequently the economies achieved in using suchmulti-purpose rooms have not been as impressive as had been expected.

Accordingly, a principal object of this invention is to provide improvedmulti-purpose furniture.

Another object of this invention is to provide improved, more economicalmulti-purpose furniture than has heretofore been obtainable.

: A further object of this invention is to provide improvedmulti-purpose institutional furniture which is of simplifiedconstruction and is economical to manufacture.

An ancillary object of this invention is to provide improvedmulti-purpose institutional furniture which may be stored compactly andwhich may be converted as to its functional usage by persons having nospecial training in the usage of such furniture.

In accordance with this invention there is provided multiple purposefurniture having a fiat, elongated top section whose edges are parallelwith the longitudinal axis of the section. Legs and suitable bracing aresecured to the top section and a seat section is hingedly supported fromthe legs. Two side sections are hingedly connected at their edges to thetop section and means nited States Paten't O 2,931,425 Patented Apr. 5,.1960

Fig. 6 is an end view of furniture similar to that shown in Fig. 1, buthaving detachable legs for permitting more compact storage of thefurniture when it is not being used.

Referring to Fig. l and to Fig. 2, there is shown multiple purposefurniture 10 which is in position for use as a table. The furniture 10comprises a center section 12 which is fixedly secured to each of theleg frame sections 14a, 14b. Each of the frame sections 14a and 14b isattached to the center section 12 near each end thereof by, for example,the screws 16 extending through ends of the members 20, 22 are offsetfrom the center of the base 24 for reasons which will be explainedlater. An upper lateral cross member 18, as mentioned above, and lowerlateral cross member 28 are secured to each pair of vertical members 20,22.

A pair of upper longitudinal cross members 30, 32' are secured to andextend between the vertical members 20, 22 of each frame section 14a,14b. In addition a brace 34 extends from each of the lower lateral crossmembers 23 (secured to that part of the member 28 lying between thevertical members 20, 22) to the bottom of the center section 12 at apoint between the points of attachment of the leg frame sections 14a,14b. In practice it is convenient to provide lateral cross members 36,38 secured between the longitudinal cross mem bers 30, 32 and to attachthe upper ends of braces 34 to the center section 12 through the lateralcross members 36, 38.

Elongated, flat side sections v40, 42 are secured to the center section12, one side section on each side thereof, by means of hinges 44, 46 ateach end of the frame. Only one set of hinges 44, 46 is shown in Fig. 2,but the hinges at the other end of the table frame are similarlydisposed. Usually, too, hinges are used to connect the side sections 40,42 to the center section 12 at the position along the frame where thelateral crossmembers 36, 38 are disposed.

When the furniture 10 is used as a table the side section 40 is held inits raised position by means of the somewhat V-shaped braces 48, 50which are secured by pivot members or brackets 58 to the bottom part 52are provided for supporting each side section in coplanar relationshipwith respect to and contiguous to the top; section. Means are alsoprovided for supporting the seat section in fixed alignment with respectto the legs and for supporting one of said side sections along an edgeof the seat section.

The invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof,will best be understood when the following detailed description is readin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of multiplepurpose furniture made in accordance with this invention and shown inits table position;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the furniture shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the furniture shown in Fig. 1, but with thefurniture in the pew position;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the furniture shown in Fig. 1, but with thefurniture in desk position;

I Fig, 5 is an end view of the furniture shown in Fig. 1, but in itsstorage position, and

of the seat section 54. The seat section 54 is attached by means of anL-shaped pivot bracket 56 to the part 57 of the lower lateral crossmember 28 which projects outwardly beyond the vertical member 20. Theupper part of the seat section 54 lies against the upper part of theframe 14a (against vertical member 20) and 14b just'below the centersection 12. When the center section is rather narrow, the points ofattachment to the center section 12 of the frame sections 14a and 14bare offset to one side of center to permit the seat section 54 to lieagainst the upper part of the frame and not extend beyond the side edgeof the center section 12.

The V-shaped braces 48, 50 are conveniently connected together by a bar60 (which may be an integral part of the brace structure if desired) topermit the positional adjustment of both braces 48, 50 at one time byOne person. The upper or vertex end of the braces 48, 50 is held in aretaining bracket or stop means 62 which is positioned, when the bracesare ledged with respect to the center section '12 by meansof braces 64which are pivotally secured to the vertical members 14b and which restagainst stop members 66 which are veniently made of rectangularly.shaped'wood planks,

al though metal or plasticlcompositional planking pould also be used forthe purpose. The frame sections are conveniently made of metal sectionsoretubes, but wood' construction may also be used if desired. V V iReferring now to Fig. 3, it may be seen that the fumiture shown in Fig.2 may be converted to use as a pew or backed seating bench by releasingthe braces 64 from the stop members 66 and permitting the side section42 to lie generally vertically with respect to the floor (not shown) onwhich the furniture rests The side section 4}) is dropped by releasingthe !-shaped braces 50 from thebracket or stop means762, loweringthe'seat section 54 and then seating the braces 50 against the stopmem-.

ber 63 which is attached on the U,-shaped leg member 26. With the seatsection in this position, the sidersection 49 is dropped down andrestsagainst the seat back stop 70 which is, as illustrated, and anglesection which is secured to the bottom 52 of the seat section 54 andwhich has one edge which extends above the topfof the rear edge of thesection 54. i

The pew position illustrates why the vertical members secured to thelower end of the vertical part, the vertical part having a lateral crossmember affixed thereto and extending outwardly from the'vertical part,the upper end of said vertical part being secured to the center sectionat approximately equal lengths from the center of the length of thecentral section, a pair of flat, elongated side sections each having anupper side and a lower side, each of saidside sections .havingparalleledges along ,f the lengthwisedimension thereof, said side sectionshaving hinges attached thereto and to said central section at at leasttwo places along the length thereof, the pivot of said hinges beingapproximately aligned with an edge of said central section and an'edgeof the side section V to which each hinge is attached, afiat,elongated seat 14a, 14b are not centered with respect to the base 24 ofthe U-shaped leg members 26. If the members 14a, 14b were centered onthe base 24, the assembly would easily be upset when people sat on theseat section. The offset arrangement shown minimizes the tippingtendency of the furniture when used as a pew or desk.

Figure 4 shows the convertible furniture of this invention adapted foruse as an elongated desk suitable for use by several individuals at onetime. The desk position is the same as the pew position except that theside section 42 is raised as in the table position shown in Figs 1 and 2and held in position by the braces 64. It may be seen that when othersuch furniture units are set together in a r'ow that the seat part ofthe rear units accommodate the desk part of the front unit.

Fig. 5 shows furniture of the type shown in Figs. 1

to 4, but with the side sections 40, 42 and seat section we 54 folded tothe storage position for the furniture. It may be seen that thefurniture folds into a compact unit and that by staggering furnitureunits slightly the leg sections 26 do not interfere with those ofadjacent pieces of similar furniture and the .furniture may. be stackedwith V the side sections of one piece abutting against side sece tionsof another piece.

'Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of the furniture shown in Figs. 1 to5 in that the legs sections 20:: and 22a are adapted to fit into tubularvertical members 14a and 14b to complete the furniture unit. Thisarrangement permits the removal of the furniture legs for storageconvenience and to permit the use of legs of various heights. For

. example, shorter legs may be used when small children are to use thefurniture in order that their feet may touch the floor when they areseated, yet longer legs may easily be attached to the furniture when itis tobe used by adults. Usually, though, the legs are high enough topermit sweeping under the legs. Also, furniture of this type may bestacked'in storage;

From the above description it is apparent that the fumiture of thisinvention is adaptedfor different functional usage, is simple inconstruction, maybe easily setup and changed in function by personshaving no special training therefor, and may be stored conveniently whennot in use. a 7 7 What is claimed is:

1. 'Multiple purpose furniture'comprising a flat surfaced, elongatedcenter section having side edges which are parallel, a pair of legstructures, :each leg structure comprising a vertical part havingan'upperend and a lower end, and a horizontally extending stabilizingcross member part, said stabilizing crossmember being section having atop side and a bottom side, said seat section being hingedly secured tothe part of each of said lateral cross member which extends outwardlyfrom said vertical parts, a first pair. of spaced apart'hinged braceshaving two ends, one end of each of said first pair of hinged bracesbeing secured to the bottom side of said seat section, a pair of stopmeans disposed on each stabilizing cross member part of the legstructure for receiving the unsecured other end of each of ,said firstpair of braces when the seat section is in one position, a pair ofstopmeans disposed on thelower side of the side section which is disposed onthe same side of said central section as is said seat section. forreceiving unsecured ends of each of the first pair of hinged braces whenthe seat section is in another position, a second pair of hinged braceseach having two ends, one of said braces being secured at one end tosaid leg structure and stop means secured to the lower side of thesecond side section to receive the unsecured end of each brace of thesecond pair of braces. 2. Multiple purpose furniture in accordance with.claim 1, wherein the vertical part of each of said leg structurescomprises a pair of tubular elements having a top and bottom and havinga cross member near to the top end, and said stabilizing cross memberpart is a U-shaped tubular element having a wide base length, the lowerend of said tubular elements of the legs being secured to the base ofthe U-shaped tube.

3. Multiple purpose furniture in accordance with claim 1, wherein thewidth of said seat section is less that the distance between the lateralcross member of the vertical part and the upper end of the verticalpart. 7

4. Multiple purpose furniture in accordance with claim 1, wherein thethickness of the seat section is less than the distance between theupper end of the vertical part symmetrically disposed with respect tothe length of the horizontally extending stabilizer elements. 7 V r 6.Multiple purpose furniture in accordance with claim 1, ,wherein saidhorizontally extending stabilizing cross member is detachably secured tosaid vertical part of the leg structure. 7 V i j I 7. Multiple purposefurniture in accordancewith claim 1, wherein stop means extend outwardlyfrom the top side of the seat section along the edge thereof which isadjacent where the seat'is hingedly secured to the lateral crossmembers. i

8. Multiple purpose furniture in accordance with claim 1, wherein thefirst pair of spaced apart hinged braces are mechanically coupledtogether. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,214,019

